Leadership Foundations Program 2025

Program Snapshot

2025 Results

Descriptor

The Leadership Foundations Program (LFP) is a structured year-long development journey designed to build the core capabilities of emerging and current leaders. The program develops leadership effectiveness through progressive stages—from intrapersonal skills to interpersonal influence, people management, and daily leadership excellence—using experiential learning, reflective practice, and targeted skills development within YMCA South Australia’s values-based culture.

Purpose

To cultivate emotionally intelligent, self-aware, and adaptive leaders who can confidently manage themselves and others, foster high-performing teams, and contribute to a positive, inclusive workplace culture.

Cohort Personas (Typical Roles)

Future Leader

First-year People Leader

Experienced Manager

Learning Outcomes

• Self-awareness & self-regulation: recognise strengths/values; manage emotions effectively.
• Emotional intelligence in practice: build empathy, trust, and collaboration.
• People & Culture integrity: apply organisational policies and Fair Work principles.
• Communication & work management: clarity, delegation, time and priority management.
• Growth mindset & continuous improvement: seek feedback and apply reflective practice.

Schedule & Structure

• Duration: 11 months
• Blocks: 4 blocks (~11 weeks each)
• Per block: 4 LMS courses + 4 reflective journal entries + 2 × 60-min webinars + 1 × 7-hr Face-to-Face

Quarter 1 — Leadership Foundations: Self-Discovery

Topics: VIA strengths, values→behaviours, personal SWOT; foundations for calm, consistent leadership.

Outcome: shared language for strengths and purpose; improved self-regulation.

Quarter 2 — Emotionally Intelligent Leadership

Topics: EI self-assessments, feedback models, conflict tools, team charters.

Outcome: better psychological safety behaviours; earlier, cleaner conflict resolution.

Quarter 3 — People & Culture Mythbusters

Topics: Fair Work micro-learning (hiring, performance, diversity/discrimination), documentation standards, TANDA training; Face-to-Face with People & Safety.

Outcome: uplift in policy confidence; reduced risk of procedural error.

Quarter 4 — Daily Leadership Skills

Topics: delegation frameworks, presentation skills, prioritisation (Covey/Eisenhower), daily leadership habits.

Outcome: sharper direction-setting, clearer delegation, and stronger follow-through.

Completed (14)

Nicola Woolford, Andrew Truong, Elizabeth Krznaric, Erin Wright, Cooper Martin, Susan Grigg, Jarrad Thomas Seaman, Lucy Ligertwood, Kelsey Frost, Shayla Mailes, Kyle Diamond, Maria Pereira, Travis Robert Smith, Clarissa Sartain.

Not Yet Completed (2) — Reason(s) vs Criteria

• Ankit Rawat: Journal 5%, F2F 50%
• Jessica Guare: Journal 25%, F2F 50%

• Capability uplift: shared EI and feedback language; increased confidence with Fair Work processes and documentation.
• Operational hygiene: clearer agendas, improved delegation, and more reliable follow-through reported in sessions and artefacts.
• Culture signals: increased appreciation behaviours and balanced feedback in practice and journal reflections.

1. Manager sign-off on behaviour change: after completion, line managers confirm one or two observable leadership behaviours implemented in the workplace (~60-day check-in).
2. Refocus the curriculum mix: reduce technical/legislative knowledge development (retain essentials) and strengthen intrapersonal + interpersonal skills focus.
3. Streamline topics (4 → 3 blocks):
   • Self-Discovery (values, strengths, self-regulation)
   • Emotionally Intelligent Leadership (empathy, feedback, conflict, trust)
   • Daily Leadership Skills (communication, delegation, prioritising, time management)
4. Micro-credential: issue an internal digital badge on verified completion (lists the five learning outcomes and block artefacts).

What We Heard (Qualitative)

• Emotional intelligence & self-awareness: stronger language and awareness of triggers; calmer responses under pressure.
• Communication & feedback: role-plays increased confidence for earlier, clearer conversations.
• People & Culture / Fair Work: micro-learning clarified procedures and documentation; confidence uplift reported.
• Daily leadership habits: Covey/Eisenhower and delegation tools improved planning and follow-through.
• Delivery: Face-to-Face sessions rated highly; a minority view suggests trimming some webinar overlap.

Survey Snapshots